Backpacking the Grand Canyon.

 

We have not been home a week and I am still trying to navigate my thoughts on the magnificence of our trip. I have words floating around but trying to connect them with any type of understanding still escapes me. 

I will break it down with simplicity, everything that the Canyon is void of. 

If you have a thought, a dream, a hint of doing this adventure I will break that down at the end to help you better understand that it is possible! 

Day ONE In Arizona. 

We flew nonstop from Detroit to Pheonix. Arriving close to the same time we left Michigan! We made it out of the airport, down to our luggage, onto the tram, to the rental car station and on the road before 12pm Arizona time. 

Nothing ever moves that smooth without a hiccup or TWO! We checked both out backpacks, carrying our essentials for the Grand Canyon. We discovered quickly that Andy lost a Croc, and the nozzle came off my hydration pack that was not secured in my backpack. 

We had a 3 hour drive to Flaggstaff to REI to purchase our propane we would need for our Jetboil. we would add a nozzle to that list and Andy would quickly regret not purchasing another pair of camp shoes. 

Our hotel was in Tusayan, directly outside the Grand Canyon park. After making it to REI and a local coffee house, we unloaded everything into our very large hotel room. It was more like a suite, and the pool was outside our room, I chuckled that we had this great room we would only be in for another 15 hours. 

Our hotel was right off the Arizona trail, leading us to sneak out and explore a few miles. The first 5 minutes in a land that was so foreign to me I SQUEALED and came to a screeching halt. Andy was looking all around trying to figure out my abrupt stop, "ANDY, LOOK....". Directly in front of me were 4 massive mammals, I would understand to be ELK. 

We only went for a 3-mile run, and my cheeks hurt more from smiling than my lungs hurt from the elevation! 

Day ONE: Backing the Grand Canyon. 

Itinerary: South Kaibab to Tonto East to Havasupai Camp. 

My Backpack Weight: 33LBS. Carrying 2 liters of water. 8oz Electrolytes, 

6Am start. 

I was overwhelmed. We would be descending for over 9 miles. As I stepped down onto the trail cut in stone, fear gripped me. Every step I felt myself shy away from the confidence I had before entering the threshold of the canyon. 

Reverence. Respect. I had purchased a new phone just for this trip for the camera. Andy would ask me to take different photos the quality was so much better. 3 hours in, about 6 miles I took my camera out for another undescribed phone and it slipped out of my hands. THUD, it dropped on the rocky path face down echoing through the canyon. Yep, the screen shattered. Andy discovered the screen protecter saved my phone. I went to take the photo only to find the camera had broke! 

The powerful scenery didn't allow me to get upset about it. We still had Andys phone, and I could still take selfies! 

We arrived at Camp at 12pm, 6 hours of hiking and I just wanted coffee! 

We located a campsite, and before setting up our tent we made coffee. 

After setting up the tent, resting we found ourselves lacing up our shoes to do a little hike to Plateau Point about 1 1/2 miles away. As we headed out we noticed a guy pointing to something in the tall grasses, It was a Pink Corral rattlesnake! 

When we arrived the Plateau Point, I was not prepared for fear to grip me the way it did. You had to cross a section of very thin land to get to the lookout point, "Andy, I don't think I can do it..." I was petrified to cross with sheer drop off on both sides I couldn't move. 

Andy patiently coaxed me to him. I was on top of a massive rock structure. They had actually placed a sturdy guard rail across the edge to lookout and discover the Colorado River directly below cutting through the canyon walls. I instantly just sat on my butt overtaken with trepidation. There was a breeze that felt like it was going to whisk me away. The young man that should us the snake arrived with his family and walked freely across the structure. This too made me nervous. He climbed down where I could no longer see him claiming there was a waterfall. The only waterfall I felt was in my shorts, I thought for sure I had peed myself! 

Curiosity got Andy and he too headed down to see. I never saw the waterfall but I did eventually stand up to take a photo! 

We headed back, made dinner, played cards and headed to bed. 

DAY 2: Hike down the Bright Angel. 

It is hard to sleep when the canyon wakes at 4:30am. Andy and I had a 11 mile hike to Phantom Ranch and back, sorta...

The temperatures were much cooler than we had expected. We both took day packs, filling our hydration packs up with water and food. The Bright Angel hike down shared a whole new experience. The canyon walls danced, sharing different emotions as the light reflected off of her. I would find myself breathless in wonder and awe and moments later sedated with fear as the walls of the canyon darkened and deepened with bold curves and jagged edges. 

We crossed the silver bridge towards the camp.

Below us the Colorado river raged, winding through the canyon and cutting through layers of rock, swiftly moving without a thought of us.  

We descended down with much more ease not carrying the weight of our packs. I found myself able to move more swiftly thus giving me more confidence in my ability to maneuver down the rugged terrain that quickly changed on the other side of the bridge towards Phantom Ranch. 

Andy began talking about the famous lemonade which I am sure is just Country Time but in the blistering heat it truly was the Best lemonade I have ever tasted! 

We sat for a bit before we started our adventure back. 

"Andy, what is that black bridge? Can we take that back?" 

I would like to tell you that my innocent little voice was enough to bait Andy but it took a lot more convincing and begging. 

And the REAL JOKE would be on ME! 

That little bridge was less than a mile apart and that part of our escapade would only tack on 2 miles more BUT it would turn out to be the most dangerous part of our endeavor for the day. 

YES, it was fun to walk a bridge into a tunnel and out! 

YES, we would get to hike a different route, The River Trail. 

And YES, I was basically hiking that mile along a VERY steep cliff all the way up with a wind that kicked up enough fear to have me hugging the cliff so tightly I would be picking out cactus quills from my legs on my return! 

I was so happy when we finally connected back to the Bright Angel trail. There is a little beach area along the Colorado River that we took our shoes off and walked into the river. You could see the drop off just a few feet from the shore, I was all out of riskiness and played it safe in the shallow end.  We didn't stay long, enough to cool down and enjoy the experience. 

The hike back to camp we would explore nature, pointing out the different plants, birds, lizards and sites cut into the canyon walls. We found a couple caves we ventured into off the trail to add to our excitement making the voyage more playful. 

We got back to camp as the winds were blowing around us, dark clouds were looming, and the touch of rain was quickly cooling our skin. 

We were EXHAUSTED.  Coffee was all I could think about! We enjoyed a cup of coffee and rested in the tent. We made it back in time as a storm rolled through the Canyon spitting rain and bending the trees overhead of us. "Andy, I tam so thankful we finished before the storm..." 

DAY 3: Bright Angel out. 

It was time to head out of the camp. We had packed most everything up the night before. There is no sleeping in down in the Canyon if you are hiking. The rangers don't recommend hiking between 10-4 due to the heat. Our first night, I had heard what I thought was an animal stirring around outside, it turned out to be hikers going out at 3:30am and then a continuous stammering of activity until we would get up around 5am! 

He had our coffee and our camp packed up and on the trail by 6am. It would be a 6-mile hike to the rim all the way UP. The temperatures would rise faster than we would gain ground. I loaded less than 1 1/2 liters of water, less weight to carry, my back lost close to about 8lbs from the beginning weight of 34lbs.  

The trek up and out of the canyon became more of a mission for me. I took in all the elements, however hearing the difficulty of coming out of the canyon became a challenge I was actually looking forward to. I kept my hiking poles out and used them to power up the rugged terrain. I struggled with several of the steps that were cut very high and long making my short legs work a lot harder to lift. 

I had picked a monument on the trail and memorized it as a focal point. We were hiking about 2 miles an hour, that monument went from looking very high and far, to us looking down on it as we hugged the rocky walls. The sharp switchbacks and edgy cliffs were quickly uncovered, and we were unsheltered from the blistering sun. We caught up to some hikers we recognized from camp and chatted with them. These two young men told us they had left at 4:30am and could not believe we had caught up to them. 

I realized I needed to bring the power hike down. 

We were very intentional about drinking our water and I had made up a drink with the left-over lemonade I had from the hike down to Phantom Ranch and some of my Athletic Greens.

This gave me a little nutrition, vitamins, minerals and probiotics to help me with some depletion I knew I would have. 

We reached the rim of the canyon at 9:30am. 3.5 hiking and my legs were wobble sticks and the temperatures were well over 80 degrees! 

The GRAND Canyon.

Where the Sky embraces a wilderness of rocks. 

The canyon is so vast it illustrates eternity in the eyes of the simple. 

You can watch light dance off the canyon walls exchanging extreme emotions that rise and fall. 

Humbly, I was overwhelmed with awe, amazement and the authenticity of God design. 

Fear chased me throughout the rocky walls that touched the sky and I chased fear in the destination of dreams coming true. 

Anita~